If you fight with the dealer, they'll fix it. I did that very thing with OM and they did it for a CEL involving the MAF sensor.
NEVER deal with them (OM). Use any other dealer. They suck a$$. Of course they're going to do it to you with sandpaper on any part! What did you expect? Buy anything from PG or another supplier (even ebay), but not a dealer.
I wouldn't be so quick to assume if the CX7 is having problems with these engines that these cars will. Several things here--more weight, AWD, and probably a few other differences that I'm not mentioning here. These put more strain on this engine and can cause problems that wouldn't be seen in our cars.
Daniel
I haven't dealt with OM, but I haven't heard anything good about them. I like Huffman or Dr Zoom.
I agree. I've put 162k miles on my 2004 Mazda 6. I have the 2.3L 4cyl., no major issues. It's been a really great car! Had the ignition coil replaced @ 120k.